Chapter 55 – Jack Hammer’s Flaw
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Selvaria walked into the newly built forge that belongs to the Blacksmith Wing of the Tamer Battalion, located in the industrial area of Seward's eastern territory. The Icebug's corpses from Texas last night had already been dissected and broken down to their craftable components, which are laid out on the ground into organized mounds in the storage room that Selvaria had to pass through before entering the crafting area of the forge.

Selvaria found Razack, the thirty-year-old Captain of the Marines who participated in Texas's evacuation mission. He is talking to three men between forty to fifty years old. They stood in front of an interactive 3D Hologram interface used by Engineers to design blueprint models before using the heavy industrial printer to build their components. It currently showed the design of a medieval jousting armor and an audio lecture by Dr. Tobias Capwell. He recreated Knight armor with the technology available at the dawn of the 21st century. Razack is standing next to a container filled with Titanium armor and weapons on the floor that belonged to the Metal Bird Monsters.

Captain Razack. "Jack, If you could just build me one of these suits of armor out of the Titanium stocks you got flown in from Russia-"

Jack. "That Titanium came from killing a fuck ton of Bird monsters, and the team who brought it back here called dibs on whatever is made from them."

Captain Razack. "But the Icebug Armor you made for us is no longer usable after our last mission."

Jack. "What do you expect from prototypes? They were built as a proof of concept and given to you guys to try them out on a few bugs. I had no idea you would battle a swarm in close combat for an hour."

Captain Razack. "Then the new armor you make from the Icebug corpses we brought back will be superior?"

Jack. "Look, this is all uncharted territory, so I can't give you any guarantees. Plus, I am still trying to figure out how to use my monster skills without destroying the raw material. So I ain't at the level to create the stuff you are looking for."

Selvaria. "Then maybe I can be the one to help you both."

Captain Razack. "Sel... I mean Admiral!"

Razack saluted her entry before relaxing when Selvaria nodded him to ease.

Jack. "This lass is an Admiral? Ain't she a bit too young for that kinda rank?"

Captain Razack. "Hold your damn tongue!"

Selvaria put a hand up to stop Razack from trying to correct him.

Selvaria. "Are you the Master Blacksmith Tamer of this department?"

Jack. "More like the only Blacksmith since no one else can process monster parts into armaments here."

Selvaria's eyes darted towards the two men standing behind him and gave a questioning look to Jack.

Jack. "Oh, these two clowns? They are my assistants, but they got some useful skills for Enchanting and Rune Ennscirptions."

Selvaria. "I didn't notice any Rune work or enchantments done on the Marines equipment yesterday."

Jack. "That's because they fucked up my first prototype armor when they used their skills on it. I won't allow them to touch anything until they learn to apply their skills without destroying all my hard work."

The two men looked like they wanted to say something rude but held back because they were too intimidated by Jack's mean glare.

Selvaria. "In that case, why can't you make this Jousting Armor for the Captain?"

Jack. "Like I told the Captain, I am still a novice in creating complex armor structures. So if you want something plain and simple, I am your guy!"

Selvaria. "A Blacksmith that only makes crude armor? What about weapons?"

Jack. "It's not like I can't make them, but my priority is to make armor from monster parts at the moment since these guys won't survive a battle without it."

Razack. "Fuck you!"

Selvaria. "Who made the Heat Blades and Incendiary grenades for the Marines then?"

Captain Razack. "Oh, they were made by the Scientific Research Wing and the Engineering Wing. I will have them try to make my men some decent armor since this guy is useless."

Jack. "Hey now! Don't go bad-mouthing my work just because I don't have the time or resources to spare to improve my crafting skills."

That caught Selvaria's attention. She had heard the same argument when she entered the forge as well.

Selvaria. "Are you capable of doing more with your skills if I give you that?"

Jack. "I don't see how you can. Even the UGP leadership said I shouldn't waste my time on it and just focus on their armor projects instead."

Selvaria. "Show me your monster skill sheet?"

Jack. "Huh?"

Selvaria. "I want to understand how your Blacksmith abilities work to help you."

Jack stared at Selvaria in confusion before relenting and ordering his Butler to share his details.

Jack. "I don't see how you can, but I will share it if it satisfies your curiosity."

[Tamer: Jack Hammer

Monster: Vulcan's Ankylosaurus (Forge)

Type: Body, Sun, Dino, Strength, Metal

Mastery: Melee Weapons

Combat Style: Equipment Transformation

Skills: Living Weapon (Beginner), Armament Forging (Beginner), Armament Deconstruction (Beginner), Vulcan's Hammer (Beginner)

Skill Features:

Living Weapon- The monster can imbue weapons it creates with the ability to consume the souls of those slain by it. When these weapons consume enough souls, they will awaken a sentient intelligence capable of gathering mana in its own unique way. Once enough mana has been collected, it can unleash a special attack until the mana within is exhausted.

Armament Forging- The monster can construct armaments from its base components. Repeating this construction several times will increase the chance of creating a piece within the rare to exotic quality. Construction speed will increase the more well versed the monster is with the design of the target. There is a high chance of failure when constructing a specific type of armament for the first time without any prior knowledge. Failure will result in the destruction of the target.

Armament Deconstruction - The monster can deconstruct armaments to their base components. Repeating this deconstruction several times will increase the chance of finding rare to exotic material. Deconstruction speed will increase the more well versed the monster is with the design of the target. There is a high chance of failure when deconstructing a specific type of armament for the first time without any prior knowledge. Failure will destroy the target.

Vulcan's Hammer - The Roman God of metal and fire has blessed the Hammer of the monster. This Hammer can be used for both creation and destruction and can redirect mana from its surroundings to power its ability to craft or kill]

Selvaria was surprised by the skill that created living weapons that went into the realm of fantasy, but she had a feeling the reason Jack didn't make weapons was also because of how weird it is.

Selvaria. "From what I can see here, your armament production skills require disassembly and reassembly of a design several times each before you can effectively create an item worth using in battle."

Jack. "Did you skip over the part where it says there is a high chance of destruction if I fail even once? Who would attempt working with precious material with that kind of punishment hanging over their head? That's why I can't go wrong with the simple stuff."

Selvaria. "Then you are wasting both your skills and the resources that the UGP collects for you."

Jack. "The fuck? I don't care if you're an Admiral. If you can do a better job than me, try it or shut it!"

Selvaria accepted the challenge and then approached the container full of Titanium glanced at the 3D design of the Jousting Armor once more before placing her hand on the contents inside. Then, she started murmuring commands to her nanites in cryptic language.

Jack. "Is she praying or something?"

Razack. "She can control Nanites, you know the forbidden weapon tech used during the cold war with China?"

Jack. "Nanites... you shitting me? I thought it was banned on Earth."

Selvaria ignored the conversation in the background and focused her mind on giving commands to the nanites in her body. It took a minute before they understood what must be done and who their target was. Then, they poured out of her body like a mist that gravitated towards the Titanium armaments in the container. The Nanites slowly broke them down and then reformed the material into an exact copy of the Jousting Armor.

Jack and Razack were left stunned and speechless by what they witnessed. Before the Nanaites returned to Selvaria, her face and body looked like they had aged by a few decades. However, once they reintegrated into her, the youthful skin and energy were back.

Jack. "Are you from Vector?"

Selvaria silently nodded.

Jack. "Well, then why didn't you say that in the first place? I am a big fan of what your people do up there. Been regretting that I never took the chance to explore the moon before society collapsed."

Selvaria. "You wouldn't be the first Earther to admire our research and tech."

Razack. "Admiral! Can you build a hundred more of these?"

Razack asked as he admired and rubbed his fingers over the armor that looked like it could withstand anything.

Selvaria. "I am afraid that is the best I can do in one day. It takes a heavy toll on my body if I over-exert them ."

Jack. "Then what was the point of pulling out that trick?"

Selvaria. "Do you think I magically learned how to do that? I spent years studying how to build armaments as part of my curriculum in Vector. Though it hurts my body the first time I used my nanites, I learned to control them by torturing myself until it became second nature to me. On the other hand, you possess the skills that could mass-produce this armor if only the risk of failure didn't block you from learning through trial and error."

Jack. "I... I have to eventually do it, but we don't have the resources or time. It's the same problem for the clowns behind me. So we were ordered to prioritize outfitting the troops as fast as possible."

The two tamers capable of Enchanting and Rune smithing nodded their heads in disgrace.

Selvaria. "If you haven't heard it yet, your Admiral Radford has placed me in charge of overseeing the design and production of armaments for Non-Tamers. Unfortunately, since you cannot turn monster parts into high-grade equipment in your current state, I have no choice but to order you to focus on developing your skills until you can make this jousting armor to Rare quality at the minimum. I also want to see what will happen when it is enhanced with runes and enchantments, so the two of you will also be grinding away with Jack until I see some results."

Jack. "Then who is going to make the armor for the army?

Selvaria. "I remember Commander Ethan mention something about Seward having a few industrial printers. I will use them to create enough armaments for everyone in Seward within a few days."

Jack. "Are you joking? Those things are designed to fabricate material for construction. It doesn't have the tech or the capacity for your plans."

Selvaria. "All your tech is primitive in my eyes. Just bring me all the Industrial printers you have in this base, and I will have them create a legion of Combat Mechs and all the armaments the UGP needs. Now I will visit the Engineering and Scientific Wing to see what I can do to improve their work."

Selvaria immediately walked out of the Blacksmith Wing forge and searched for the other support wings.

Jack. "Did she just say Combat Mechs?"

Razack. "I believe she also said the word 'Legion.'"

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